


The Draw of the Sea

by Zandilar



Series: Call of the Tides [2]
Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: A little angst, F/F, Jaina is a somewhat useless bi, Katherine tries to nudge them closer, Sthrin truly is a useless lesbian, a little denial, a little fluff, really they're both hot messes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-29 22:02:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16273247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zandilar/pseuds/Zandilar
Summary: With Jaina rescued and the Kul Tiran fleet back safely, Sthrin contemplates the future and attempts to re-start the conversation from before everything – only to run into Kalec coming to see Jaina.





	The Draw of the Sea

Sthrin leant against the balcony’s railing looking down over the courtyard below, which was crowded with the people of Kul Tiras celebrating the return of their lost fleet. She saw returned sailors hugging their loved ones like life lines, children laughing and playing, and an impromptu band of citizens playing the sea shanties of their people. Another time she might have gone down to join them, but she knew this was only the half way point, that more trouble lay upon the horizon. While the Alliance now had the naval power of Kul Tiras as a strong ally, the Horde had not been quiet. While she’d personally done some work with the 7th Legion to ameliorate the naval strength of the Horde’s new allies, the Zandalari, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this whole war build-up was a waste of time, and a distraction from something much darker. She was not much in the mood for celebration.

Down below a flash of blue caught her eye, and she saw a tall young man with blue hair making his way through the crowd towards the dais where Jaina and her mother stood, celebrating with their people. While Sthrin was not an official member of the Kirin Tor, most mages who had spent any time in Dalaran would recognise Kalecgos, Archmage and member of the Council of Six. From the rumours, she also knew that he and Jaina had, at one point, been lovers. She saw Kalec take Jaina into his arms, and not wanting to witness anything more Sthrin turned and walked back into the palace. It seemed the conversation they had started all that time ago on Jaina’s flagship would never be finished. Sthrin took a deep breath through her nose and slowly let it out of her mouth, she couldn’t dwell on this – there was too much to do, too much at stake. Besides, it wasn’t like she hadn’t put all this aside before.

For now, she had earned a small break, and so she made her way into the small and comfortable library. She picked a book at random off the shelf and opened it up in the middle. It was a book on the construction of military ships. At first she had to force herself to concentrate enough to understand what she was reading, but very soon lost herself in the intricacies of wood types for hulls versus wood types for masts, and which hull designs were best suited to battle at sea. She didn’t even hear the door open and footsteps approaching, until she heard a throat being cleared. Looking up from her book she saw Katherine Proudmoore standing before her. Her hesitation was enough for Katherine to smile and wave her to stay seated, and she sat on the chair opposite.

“I wondered where you’d gone off to,” Katherine said, “You should be out celebrating with the people.”

Sthrin let a sad smile tug briefly at her lips, “Once, I would have been right in the middle of it, my lady. But I have much on my mind, and I wouldn’t be good company,” she said, “Let your people and your daughter enjoy the returned fleet – tomorrow will be…”

“You’ll be swept up in whatever your Alliance is planning,” Katherine said, pausing for a moment to give Sthrin a sharp look, “And so will Jaina.”

Sthrin sighed, “Well at least she’ll have her solace and some comfort before we begin again.”

“What do you mean?” Katherine asked.

“I saw Kalec was with you,” Sthrin replied, “I think this was what they were waiting for – for Jaina to resolve her guilt.”

Kathrine chuckled softly, then shook her head, “She sent him back to Dalaran. She told him that now she was High Admiral, there was a conflict of interest – since Kul Tiras will be formally part of the Alliance, or at least allied, and the Kirin Tor is officially neutral in the war.”

“I see,” Sthrin said, looking down at the book she had been reading, and fiddling with its cover. Katherine shifted forward in her seat and put her hand on Sthrin’s wrist.

“You and I went through a lot to get her back,” she said, “Don’t think your determination went unnoticed. Much of what you did for Kul Tiras was for _her_ , not her people, and not for the Alliance.”

Sthrin’s fingers flexed slightly, and her long ears twitched, “I don’t even know why.”

“Your reputation is for being sharp of mind,” Katherine said, “I think we both know why.”

Sthrin looked up, frowning, “I… I told her it was silly and too fast. I had only met her a few times before we sailed for Boralus, and those meetings were fleeting.”

“Do you love my daughter?” Katherine asked.

The words struck Sthrin speechless. She couldn’t bring herself to lie, that of course she loved Jaina because she was a friend. She hadn’t known her long enough to truthfully say that, and yet… And yet it was possible that she was actually _in_ _love_. When she had learned what had befallen Jaina while she was gaoled and then freed and then given the task of uniting the Kul Tiran people, she had been filled with a fire that might well have matched the burning world tree she had failed to save. If King Greymane had not persuaded Katherine to free her daughter, Sthrin would have taken matters into her own hands. She felt Katherine studying her closely, and heard the older woman chuckle softly.

Sthrin shuddered slightly and set the book aside, “I don’t think I can do this right now,” she said, and stood up, pulling her wrist away from Katherine’s hand, “There’s too much at stake… The situation is too complex, I can’t be distracted with this.” With that she walked from the library without looking back.

Katherine watched her go, and sighed deeply.

 

Jaina found her mother sitting in the library, idly flipping through a book. As she approached Katherine looked up and gave her a small smile.

“Tired of celebrating?” she asked.

“Hmm… There’s only so much I can take of Tandred flirting with everyone in sight,” Jaina replied, “He’s not wasting any time, and quite frankly I can’t blame him.”

“Your brother has been away a long time,” Katherine said, “So I suppose it’s to be expected – he’s always been a flirt. Maybe one day he’ll see fit to give me grandchildren…” Her mother trailed off and gave Jaina a sharp look.

“Mother…” Jaina said with a sigh.

“I know, I’m sorry,” she replied, “It’s too choppy at the moment to think about such things… Too many things to take care of, too much at stake, too complicated.”

Jaina blinked, “What are you talking about?”

“I saw you with Kalec…” Katherine said, “And I was not the only one.”

Jaina felt confusion rise, along with a certainty that she should know what her mother was implying. So she decided to change the subject.

“Have you seen Lady Sthrin?” Jaina asked, “I didn’t see her at the celebrations, at least not after the beginning.”

“I spoke to her a few minutes ago, before you arrived,” Katherine said, “I found her here reading. Apparently, she’s not big on celebrating when she’s got so much on her mind. I have no idea where she went, unfortunately.”

“Well I guess I should track her down,” Jaina said, “I’ve been meaning to talk to her for a while.”

“Try her ship,” Katherine said, “She was worried about what happens next.”

Jaina shook her head, “Not a bad idea, but most of the crew is at the celebration,” she said, “Even Mattias Shaw.”

“Be careful with her,” Katherine said, “I wouldn’t like to see either of your hurt.”

Jaina raised her eyebrows at her mother, who just smiled back and waved her off.

 

Night had well and truly fallen by the time Jaina made it down to the _Wind’s Redemption_ , and still the streets had been crowded with revellers – the party would probably go on all night. However, the 7th Legion ship was quiet. None of the crew apart from a couple of attentive guards were there. Jaina crossed onto the deck, and thought briefly about seeing if Sthrin was in her cabin, and as she did so, a quiet thump on the deck behind her made her turn around. Alleria Windrunner stood there smiling at her.

“Jaina Proudmoore,” Alleria said, her voice sounding somewhat hollow, an after effect of embracing the void, “Been a little while since I last saw you!”

Jaina smiled, “Yes, it has been.”

“What brings you to our ship?” Alleria asked.

“I was hoping to speak with the Champion,” Jaina replied.

“Which one?” Alleria asked, “The Alliance has a lot of champions.”

“We do… So, the Envoy,” Jaina replied.

“We have a lot of those too,” Alleria said with a tease in her tone.

“You know very well who I mean!” Jaina exclaimed trying not to show her exasperation, but failing.

“Archmage Sthrin came back to the ship earlier, and last I saw had taken a small boat out along the coast with her fishing gear,” Alleria told her.

Jaina sighed, frowning, “I’m never going to catch her at this rate.”

“Maybe this will help then,” Alleria said, “She’s found this little cove, not too far away from Boralus that’s sheltered, and apparently not a place anyone else goes to – no fish.”

“She fishes in a cove with no fish?” Jaina asked.

Alleria shrugged, “You’d have to ask her about that – I don’t know. If she’s anywhere on a night like tonight, she’ll be there.”

“Thank you, Alleria,” Jaina said, turning to leave.

“Is everything all right?” Alleria asked, “Sthrin was… distracted more than she is usually.”

“It’s fine,” Jaina answered, “But I think she and I are overdue for a talk.”

“Whatever it’s about, good luck,” Alleria called as Jaina made her way off the _Wind’s Redemption_.

 

Sthrin lay on her back with her eyes closed, head cushioned by her hands and feet planted in the sand. Her fishing gear sat neatly organised beside her, but she hadn’t really come here to fish. She let the soft sound of the wind and the waves shush her into calm. There was definitely a lot to be done, but the celebrations looked certain to be going well into the next day.

“I suppose the people have earned the break,” Sthrin said, “Elune knows they need it.”

There was no response, just the sound of the water. Sthrin sighed and felt something settle in her just a little. She opened her eyes to take in the stars, and was startled to see Jaina standing over her looking down and smiling, her white and gold hair gleaming in the light of Elune.

“Don’t forget yourself, Archmage,” Jaina said, “You’ve also earned a rest.”

Sthrin sat up so quickly that Jaina had to take a step back.

“Lord Admiral!” she exclaimed, “I didn’t…”

“Of course you didn’t,” Jaina said, lightly scolding, “You made yourself quite difficult to track down.”

Sthrin chuffed lightly and stood up, brushing herself down – she had taken the opportunity to doff her robes for once and was dressed simply in a shirt and trousers with no shoes. She noticed Jaina’s slight smile as the other woman took in her appearance.

“I promise I wasn’t avoiding you,” Sthrin said after a moment’s silence.

“A lie?” Jaina asked, “And you seemed so serious when you said we were going to have a discussion about what happened on the way here.”

Sthrin closed her eyes and took in a breath of the sea air.

“Did you think I had forgotten?” Jaina asked.

“I did, Lord Admiral,” Sthrin replied, looking down at the human woman, “After what you went through… I thought it wouldn’t be fair to you to bring it back up.” She made a vague gesture with her right hand. “Then I saw Kalecgos.” She shrugged.

“I sent him away,” Jaina said.

“I know, your mother told me,” Sthrin said, and added, “She’s a shrewd one.”

“Well that makes a couple of things she said make more sense,” Jaina said, and waved her hand before Sthrin could respond, “You still thought avoiding me was the best course of action?”

“Lord Admiral…” Sthrin began.

“No, for this conversation I’m Jaina,” Jaina told her, “We are having it now. You are not going to make any more excuses up to avoid it. I am more than ready for it, and I’m not going to let this moment slip away.” She gestured to the empty beach.

“Jaina,” Sthrin said, voice slightly hitching, “I don’t know that this _is_ the best moment.”

“ _When_ then?” Jaina asked.

“When this is all over,” Sthrin replied.

“It’s _never_ going to be over, Sthrin,” Jaina said, “This fighting? It’s nothing new. Maybe this conflict will die down in time, but something else will come up – another Horde threat, and if not that it’ll be something else. If we wait for ‘it’ to be over, we’ll both be dead. I am not a Kaldorei, I don’t have the luxury of thousands of years of time… And you’re still mortal like the rest of your kin, no matter how long it’s possible for you to live if nothing else intercedes.”

Sthrin opened and closed her mouth once, then twice, and couldn’t come up with anything to say. It was obvious that Jaina _had_ thought about this, despite what she had been through, and despite what Sthrin had believed.

“Oh! By the light, just kiss me Sthrin!” Jaina exclaimed, pulling her down by the front of her shirt.

Sthrin put her hands on Jaina’s shoulders in an effort to stop the forward momentum, but the moment she did so Jaina glared, a clear ‘don’t you dare’ in her eyes, steely grey in the moonlight. So Sthrin gave in, let her arms and hands slip down to pick Jaina up, feeling the human woman’s legs wrap around her waist. The kiss was warm at first, and Sthrin let her eyes slip closed as she held Jaina tighter as the kiss deepened. Jaina felt so good against her, smelled like sea and spices, and tasted like slightly bad breath, wine, and mint – but to Sthrin it was a taste she had longed for ever since they first kissed on their way to Boralus. Sthrin’s legs began to tremble, and Jaina leaned back in her arms smiling.

“Do you think we should take this somewhere else less sandy?” Jaina asked.

“Elune yes,” Sthrin replied breathlessly.

Jaina nodded, made a short sequence of gestures, and then the beach was empty save Sthrin’s little sail boat and the fishing tackle.


End file.
